The New Fat Controller
by Jemascola
Summary: Sir Topham Hatt takes a vacation, so he temporarily yields control of the railway to someone else.
1. Chapter 1

**The New Fat Controller**

_**By Joe**_

**Summary:** Sir Topham Hatt takes a vacation, so he temporarily yields control of the railway to someone else.

**Author Notes:** I do not own _Thomas the Tank Engine_, its characters, or any other copyrighted material. Also, this story contains some violence near the end.

**Chapter 1**

It was summertime on the Island of Sodor. And that meant that Sir Topham Hatt was ready to take a month off for vacation as usual. But the only problem was that he had nobody to control the station while he was away. He discussed the issue with Lady Hatt, his wife.

"What am I to do?" questioned the Fat Controller.

"Isn't your nephew able to take control as he does every summer?" asked Lady Hatt.

"Not this year," said Sir Topham Hatt. "And I don't know of anyone else who will help out."

"Why don't you check for people seeking jobs on the internet?" asked his wife.

"Good idea," said Sir Topham Hatt. He booted his computer and went to to look for people seeking work. He looked under the column for people seeking jobs for work in the mechanics area. "I need someone with a lot of experience with steam engines and diesel engines." The man looked over the credentials for the various job seekers, but he found nobody with the right qualifications. Sir Topham Hatt was about to quit, when he saw an ad at the bottom of the page.

The job seeker's name was Phil Harris, Jr. He was an out-of-work diesel mechanic and had lots of other experience with other forms of mechanics. From what Sir Topham Hatt could tell from the picture, Phil appeared to be steady, strong, and confident.

"This person is the perfect employee!" he announced. "He is underage, but he seems a lot more useful than those other applicants."

Sir Topham Hatt gave Phil a phone call. Phil, who lived all the way over in the United States, was busy in his garage practicing his diesel mechanic skills. He was working on his Scout II truck, which ran on diesel. Then, he heard the phone ring. Phil had a phone in his garage, so it was convenient for him. Phil stopped working and picked up the oil-covered phone. "Phil Harris, how may I help you?"

"Mr. Harris, I would like to schedule an interview for you," said Sir Topham Hatt. "I am looking for someone to take charge of my railway for a month while I take my annual vacation."

"Terrific!" said Phil. "What time and place?"

"Tomorrow at 12:00 noon. The railway is on the Island of Sodor near London, England. Do you think you can make it?" asked Sir Topham Hatt.

"Yes sir," said Phil. "Good bye." Phil was rather surprised that he'd been offered a job all the way in London. He rushed to the airport immediately to catch the next flight there.

The next morning, when Phil arrived, he took a taxi to the Island of Sodor. He saw all the steam engines working very hard. Phil smiled. It felt like home to him here. He then marched to Sir Topham Hatt's office for the interview.

When Sir Topham Hatt met Phil, he was rather impressed by his stature. Phil was much larger than Sir Topham Hatt expected. He was 6'6" and looked very heavy. Also, Phil had neatly-trimmed dark brown hair and thin-rimmed rectangular glasses. He wore a dark red plaid shirt and blue jeans. "Please sit down, sir," greeted Sir Topham Hatt. Phil took a seat, while Sir Topham Hatt sat at his desk. "Okay, how many years have you been in the area of mechanics?"

"About 5 years now," said Phil.

"Are you a strong, tireless worker?" asked Sir Topham Hatt.

"Yes, sir, I am, but I thought this job was for management," said Phil.

"Oh, it is," said Sir Topham Hatt, "but you need to be strong in case some disaster happens on the railway."

"I see," said Phil.

"Final question: are you confident things will run as smoothly as possible while I'm away?"

"Without a doubt. In fact, I think I can even make some changes to make things faster and more efficient," said Phil.

"Congratulations, Mr. Harris, you have the job!" said Sir Topham Hatt.

"Great," grinned Phil, who looked out the window of Sir Topham Hatt's office, looking at the engines that were working out on the railway.

As soon as Sir Topham Hatt left the Island of Sodor, Phil took a seat in his new office. He smiled and looked around. He then looked outside and saw the engines again. For some reason, he was very fascinated with them. He examined their work with steam-powered pistons. Too slow and inefficient, he thought. Phil called two of his closest friends, Tyler and Joe, to help him out on the railway. Things were not going to be the same on the Island of Sodor.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Tyler and Joe both came to the Island of Sodor as soon as possible and arrived in Phil's office hours later. Tyler was a tall, somewhat lanky boy with somewhat shaggy brown hair. Tyler wore a green shirt and brown pants. He almost had an uncanny resemblance to Shaggy Rogers from Scooby Doo. Joe was unusually short for his age, and he had spiky brown hair. He wore a white shirt and a red necktie and carried a briefcase full of stock market quotes.

"Hey, Tyler. Hey, Joe," said Phil. Both of his friends returned the greeting. "Guys, we have to go to Tidmouth sheds to talk to the engines. A revolution is about to occur," Phil said in a devious tone. Tyler and Joe looked at each other with concern.

Phil then walked out with Tyler and Joe following him. They walked all the way to the sheds, where the engines were waiting to meet the new leader.

"I heard he's big," said Edward.

"Even bigger than Sir Topham Hatt?" Percy asked.

"Much," said James.

"Is it true that there's going to be some _changes_ on this railway?" Henry asked.

"I hope not," said Gordon. "Last thing we need is some twerp who tries to interfere with Sir Topham Hatt's railway.

Just at that moment, Phil, Tyler, and Joe arrived. All three stood on the turntable. The engines were a bit frightened. Phil looked dangerous. "Greetings, engines," Phil said. "My name is Phil Harris, Jr. These are my assistants and best friends, Tyler and Joe." Tyler and Joe waved to the engines. "Let me tell you about myself," said Phil. "I am a diesel mechanic, and I have lots of experience with mechanical related stuff."

Phil blabbed for nearly five minutes about his experience and physical strength. "I don't like this guy at all," snorted Duck. "He's so arrogant, and he even mentioned…the 'D' word!"

"Now," said Phil, "as you might have heard, there are going to be a lot of changes on the railway. That rumor is true. Steam engines are old-fashioned and undependable. They are also slow and inefficient. That is why I am turning each and every one of you into diesel engines!"

"**Diesel engines!**" gasped Thomas.

"You are corrupt!" snapped Gordon. "We refuse to turn into diesel engines!"

"Oh yeah, wanna bet?" Tyler challenged.

"What can you three _possibly_ do?" James snorted.

"Joe, remove the engines' coal supply immediately," directed Phil.

"You got it, Phil!" said Joe. He hurried off to destroy all the coal stockpiles.

"Now you steam engines can go play for a while to burn off the rest of your coal," said Phil. "Tyler, Joe, and I will be at the works to arrange for your new diesel engines." Then, Phil and Tyler walked off to take a car to the works.

"We've got to stop them!" said Thomas. "Who's with me?" The other engines cheered in agreement. "I saw we race after them and stop them from removing our coal supply!" The engines blew their whistles and cheered even louder than before. Thomas was about to lead the revolt by crossing the turntable. Unfortunately, his fun was going to end shortly.

Phil suddenly ran over to the turntable and spun it in a direction where the engines could not use it. They all groaned and complained and shouted loudly. Phil smiled proudly and left.

Hours later, each and every engine was forcibly sent to the works. The already-diesel engines, Diesel, Boco, and Daisy, hauled the steam engines with the breakdown van.

"Ha ha ha," laughed Diesel. "We told you all that diesels are far superior. And you all denied that statement. And now look what's happening."

"Shut up, Diesel," said Duck. "The other steam engines and I are planning a rebellion against Big Phill and his crew."

"Maybe we should tell him, Diesel," Boco said.

"There's no point in it," said Diesel. "They won't win anyway." In protest, the steam engines blew their whistles angrily at the diesel engines. However, the diesels weren't threatened at all. They laughed their heads off.

When the engines arrived at the work, Phil dedicated days and days to convert all the steam engines to burn diesel fuel. It wasn't an easy job, and it took nearly all of Phil's strength, sweat, and blood, but he eventually got the job done.

A week later, when the conversion was complete, the engines all felt very strange by running diesel. They didn't need firelighters anymore, as they turned on within a split second. Also, they didn't have warm boilers full of water. The engines all looked the same as they did before, but they were now designed to burn diesel. And needless to say, they were not happy about it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As a result of the major change on the railway, the engines refused to do their work. Phil realized that the engines were only being stubborn, and their drivers were allowing them to get away with such behavior. Phil decided to threaten the drivers. He said that if they went along with the engines' wishes to refuse to work, then they would not receive their paychecks. Needless to say, Phil had quite an influence on the drivers, as the engines went back to work, much to their dismay.

"We will not run if we're diesels!" they all cried. All the engines tried their best to desist their work, but they were only helpless puppets of their drivers.

Phil watched all the activity outside and smiled, lying back in Sir Topham Hatt's chair. He then pressed the buzzer for Tyler. "Tyler, please inform me of customer satisfaction."

Tyler entered the office. "Well, Phil, customer satisfaction is up 70 percent from levels last month. It seems as though your change on the railway has vastly improved conditions."

Phil then called Joe into the office for further information. Joe walked in and took a heap of papers out of his briefcase. "Well, Phil, efficiency on the railway has increased 205 percent. Also, the number of on-time trains has soared. Additionally, the number of railway accidents has sharply fallen to a 40 year low. Also, our stock price has spiked lately."

"Good news, boys," said Phil.

"But there is a problem," said Tyler.

"What?" asked Phil.

"The engines despise the changes."

"Ah, who cares? They're just trains. All they are is a bunch of metal. They don't have feelings."

"These trains do," said Tyler.

"They're just robotic," Phil said.

"I don't think so," said Joe.

"Who cares, things aren't changing, and that's final!" ordered Phil. Tyler and Joe looked rather frightened of Phil, so they scurried out of the office.

Meanwhile, Gordon, Thomas, and Percy were chugging through Knapford station, much to their dislike. They picked up all the passengers, and then, they all went their separate ways to take the passengers to their destinations. Later, when the three returned to Knapford station, they began to chat.

"I only wish we could move without our drivers," said Thomas.

"But we can't. Remember, you tried that once, and that didn't turn out too well," reminded Percy.

"Yeah, I remember," said Thomas. I must say, Sir Topham Hatt and the station master weren't pleased."

"What are we to do?" wondered Gordon. "We can't work without our drivers, and even if they work for us, Phil might even get rid of them."

"Hey, I know what we'll do!" said Thomas.

"What?" asked Percy.

"We can lock our drivers out of the cab, and then, we can refuse work!"

"Good idea, Thomas!" said Gordon. The three engines then chugged off to their sheds, feeling content with their new plan of rebellion.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The next morning, all the engines' drivers came to the sheds to power the engines. However, they were in for an unexpected surprise when they were locked out! And by sheer coincidence, the keys were missing as well!

"You damn engines better stop, or we'll call Big Phill!" the drivers yelled.

"We're not scared of that fatso," said Henry.

The entire day was full of chaos. Not a single train left for anywhere. Customer satisfaction dipped tremendously. As a result, people rioted in Phil's office.

"Bad railway! Bad railway! Bad railway!" shouted the angry customers. Phil couldn't take it anymore. He'd had enough.

"Alright, that's enough! I've had it!" shouted Phil. "I've tried to be reasonable, I've tried to be fair, but it's not working. In order to get things working again, I'm going to have to use military force!" Everyone gasped when Phil said that. Phil suddenly put on a General's cap, and he took Tyler and Joe out of the office.

When the three returned an hour later, they were driving a brigade of army tanks. Phil had a bullhorn. The three surrounded Tidmouth sheds. Phil spoke to the engines through the bullhorn. "All right, trains, **I mean business!** Either get back to work, or I will use lethal force on each and every one of you. None of you have the capacity to overthrow us," declared Phil. "If you value your lives, I suggest you resume work!"

Thomas suddenly revved forward. "NO!" he shouted.

Then, all of a sudden, Phil got in his tank and made a major blast toward the shed. The engines revved out to escape. The shed exploded, and all that remained was a pile of ashes and lots of smoke. The engines all looked horrified. They all unlocked their doors and let their drivers in. Phil smiled. "I think we understand each other now." In fear, the engines went back to work.

Despite the fact that Phil tried to deter the trains, there were still attempts at rebellion later during the day. Near Knapford station, while Edward's driver was gone, Edward locked his doors and turned over on the rails so he wouldn't be able to work. Additionally, the long line of cars he was hauling turned over as well. But things didn't bode well for him.

Tyler saw the whole incident and advanced in his tank. Edward looked shocked, knowing he'd made a terrible mistake. Tyler got inside the tank and set the target for Edward. Edward panicked. He tried to move, but it was no good without any rails. Tyler fired a missile at Edward, and Edward exploded. Tiny shards of metal scattered in the sky, and a large fire started because the missile ignited the diesel fuel inside Edward. A fire began on the rails, and Tyler reported the incident. "Phil, I just annihilated a very naughty engine. Because of that, a fire started on the rails."

"Redirect traffic for now," said Phil.

Tyler got in front of the fire and redirected the trains. James, however, decided to try another rebellion. He refused to go forward on the rails. In fact, he even went backward. Tyler called Joe. "Joe, we have another naughty engine to eradicate."

Joe blocked the rail James was on, and James bumped into Joe's tank. He looked behind him and grinned sheepishly. James then took off, when suddenly, within the blink of an eye, there was nothing but smoke, flames, and pieces of metal everywhere. Without a doubt, Phil and his crew had gone insane.

Thomas, Percy, and Duck decided to rebel in their own way. They had taken a giant net and decided to capture all the tanks with it. Also, they had flame throwers built onto their bodies. "This'll show them," said Duck. The three advanced toward Phil's tank and tried to catch him. Phil only laughed, and he only advanced his tank, which destroyed the net. He ran over Thomas, Percy, and Duck. They now looked like flattened pieces of metal.

Gordon thought of his own rebellion plan. There was a siding right by Sir Topham Hatt's office. He planned to travel full speed into the siding and run off the rails, thus crashing inside. Gordon chugged his wheels and went to work. He darted off at about 70 miles per hour. He then rammed right through the office, which set on fire. Phil saw the event and raced his tank over. "Uh-oh…" Gordon said. The last thing he saw was a big missile headed straight for him. In less than a second, Gordon was turned into tiny shards of metal.

"That's it!" shouted Phil. "**No more rebellions!**" He then called Tyler and Joe for a way to end the trains' rebellion. Almost instantly, their plan was put into action. The turntable exploded, and the guys also used their tanks to blow up every single track in the railway. Additionally, all the railway stations ignited on fire. Phil, Tyler, and Joe spent the entire day destroying the Island of Sodor, and they felt proud, feeling that they'd finally put an end to the engines' nonsense.

But by sunset, however, the trio realized they'd made a horrible mistake. Not only had they destroyed a railway, which hindered Sir Topham Hatt's business, but also, they had done so _after_ they'd eradicated all the trains. That meant that the trains had been gone long before the guys destroyed the railway. The destruction of the railway was unnecessary. Even worse was that Sir Topham Hatt was to return the very next day.

"Oh crap," said Phil. "We are in _big_ trouble."

"Oh yeah," agreed Tyler. The three scrapped their tanks, and they began a long walk to the airport.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Sir Topham Hatt arrived at dawn, and he was absolutely horrified at the changes that had been made to his railway. The sad truth was that he no longer owned a railway! There were no rails, no stations, and no trains. Sir Topham Hatt was further angered when he saw lots of fires and rising smoke. "PHIL HARRIS! COME HERE!" bellowed the Fat Controller.

Even though Phil, Tyler, and Joe had begun to run away, they hadn't gotten far, and they could hear Sir Topham Hatt's shout. The three knew they were in trouble, so they figured the best thing to do would be report to the Fat Controller. When they arrived, he looked extremely agitated.

"**What happened to my railway!**" Sir Topham Hatt thundered.

"Sir, your engines were extremely naughty. We tried to spark a revolution to make things more efficient by turning them into diesel engines, but they were stubborn, so we had no choice but to destroy your engines and your station."

"_You destroyed my engines and my station and my railway_!" thundered Sir Topham Hatt. "**I'll get you for this!**"

Then, Sir Topham Hatt chased Phil, Tyler, and Joe. The chase didn't last long. Sir Topham Hatt managed to beat up all three of them without lifting a finger. Phil, although he was much bigger and stronger than Sir Topham Hatt, was not able to retaliate because Sir Topham Hatt was too quick for him. Tyler and Joe tried to help out with the fight, but the Fat Controller also tackled them. By the time Sir Topham Hatt stopped beating the boys to death, he hurried back to his "railway" to see about restoring it.

"My trains…my stations…my railway," he sobbed.

Nearly a year after the incident, everything was back to normal, and things were never better. Sir Topham Hatt found all the scrap metal from the engines and had them reconstructed with their good old-fashioned steam engines. He also rebuilt the entire railway. He later met with them at Tidmouth sheds.

"Engines, I've missed you all, and I'm so glad that you've survived," said Sir Topham Hatt.

"We are too, sir," said Thomas. "Promise us that you'll never let anyone else run the railway again."

"I promise," smiled Sir Topham Hatt. After that, things on Sir Topham Hatt's railway flourished and did better than ever before. More and more people came to the railway and continued giving it business for years and years to come. And best of all, Phil, Tyler, and Joe never showed their faces on the Island of Sodor ever again.

**The End**


End file.
